Chapter 1118: Chapter 1118: Heavenly Guardian Pavilion
Traversing the entirety of the Immortal Palace and passing through two Secret Realm Gates, Pei Yan was awestruck by the scene upon his first arrival at the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion. In his mind, the so-called Heavenly Guardian Pavilion was merely a repository for archival records. Its architecture might be grand, but he imagined it to be similar to a pavilion style; before he arrived, he had envisioned it as akin to the Tengwang Pavilion or Yellow Crane Tower. However, upon arrival, he found it was nothing like he had imagined.
Led by the Immortal Palace Steward, as soon as he entered the vicinity of the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, his eyes were drawn to an array of black stone tablets varying in size, densely packed and stretching from the mountain’s base to its peak, as many as the eye could see. These black stone tablets, combined with the surrounding serene environment, created a solemn and chilling atmosphere, imparting a sense of oppression to those walking among the stone forest, making one instinctively feel a sense of reverence for this place.
Though the old Pei Yan wouldn’t have been entirely overcome by such an aura, he would have been somewhat affected. Yet, having just begun to master the power of aura, he immediately sensed the difference upon entering. The seemingly chaotic arrangement of stone tablets actually concealed a mystery. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be an array unfamiliar to Pei Yan, designed to utilize the special material of the stone tablets in conjunction with the array, subtly affecting a person’s vision, hearing, touch, and more, thereby imposing psychological pressure. These stone tablets had stood here for so long that they had merged with the mountain’s array formation, its imposing aura spreading continuously from all directions.
"Every time I come here, I feel uncomfortable for the whole day afterwards. Why can’t they just build a courtyard pavilion to store documents? All these stone tablets—anyone who didn’t know better would think they walked into a graveyard! Damn, if a fight breaks out, I’ll dig up those old codgers’ graves!" Zheng Jia Ru muttered softly beside Pei Yan, who was disguised as Wang Wenze, as he looked at the surroundings. "Hey, Pei, Wang Wenze, say something! You aren’t scared by the atmosphere here, are you?"
Unlike others, Pei Yan felt utterly at ease coming here, releasing his newly fused powers in secret, frantically absorbing the aura that had been nurtured here for many years into his own body. To collect more, he wished to walk even slower. It was only when he heard Zheng Jia Ru’s call that he snapped back to reality and retorted, "Do you want the people here to suffer? If so, keep quiet and release your source energy, conceal my movements!"
"Oh?" Zheng Jia Ru’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, sizing up Pei Yan. Although he didn’t understand how Pei Yan would teach them a lesson, Pei Yan had never disappointed him before. Without further questions, he quietly released his source energy to envelop Pei Yan behind him.
To highlight the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion’s extraordinary status compared to the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace, it was mandated that cultivators were prohibited from flying upon entering its domain, and loud noises and reckless behavior were strictly forbidden. This rule did not target the investigation team, but all outsiders, except for Spirit Lord Lin Ruxue, must comply.
Thus, the group could only ascend the mountain via the winding paths. Despite the height, these people, due to their physical prowess, even with Pei Yan deliberately slowing down, reached the summit within half an hour.
Approaching the summit, Pei Yan finally saw the residential complex. Compared to the majestic stone forest, the buildings before him were negligible at best. The pavilion wasn’t tall, approximately three stories high at a glance. The architectural style was antiquated, but not exquisitely so; on closer inspection, it even appeared somewhat dilapidated, with many layers of paint peeling to reveal the decayed wooden stubs inside. Pei Yan doubted whether such a small and dilapidated pavilion could truly house the millennia-old scrolls of the Daoist Realm. Could this be a Spatial Divine Artifact, with its true wonders hidden within?
As Pei Yan scrutinized the pavilion before him, an Immortal Palace Steward, stationed outside the mountaintop walls, was also scrutinizing this group. Sensing the gaze fall upon him, Pei Yan turned his head, recalling Xia Yu’s words—the person was meticulously inspecting the arriving crowd, seemingly trying to spot him.
Today’s inspection by Ge Yongshou was more thorough than usual. The reason was simple: though claiming to be detached and aloof, they couldn’t truly sever all ties with the outside world. When their former sect sent word to obstruct and hinder the investigation team, hoping they’d retreat in difficulty, they complied. Because of this, when the sect informed them to pay attention to Pei Yan and be lenient upon his arrival, passing on his specific information, although they were disdainful, they accepted this advice.
At that competition, the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion wasn’t without spectators. Though they were impressed by Pei Yan’s talent at such a young age, they believed that one person, no matter how powerful, was insignificant before the entire Heavenly Guardian Pavilion. What truly concerned them was Spirit Lord Lin Ruxue’s favor towards him. It was clear that, to win over the foundation for a position, she was showering favor upon her beloved disciple’s protege, hence there was no need to offend her for his sake.
For reasons such as these, upon receiving news from the Immortal Palace that Pei Yan had returned to the Daoist Realm and would pause here briefly before departing, Ge Yongshou was particularly cautious about today’s visit from the investigation team. If they indeed discovered Pei Yan’s presence, he could show a semblance of face for them to offer compromise, allowing the investigation team to gain some temporary assistance, with trouble to be sought once Pei Yan had left.
With such intentions, after a careful inspection, Ge Yongshou failed to spot Pei Yan among the crowd. Most of those present were familiar faces, apart from the investigation personnel; there were only the two men and two women responsible for security. Detecting nothing unusual, his expression turned irate, politely yet aloofly stating, "Fellow Daoists, may I know the purpose of your visit today?"
"Immortal Master Ge, we’re here for the matter previously discussed." Mei Simiao stood in the crowd without speaking, while Yuan Shaoqing stepped forward, cupping his hands courteously, "Firstly, we wish to borrow the Hongjun Sword Furnace to check records of movement across different realms following the incident with Fan Ruyi at Celestial Sword Manor. Additionally, we hope the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion could assign one or two experts in Daoist Realm scripts to aid us in deciphering borrowed documents, to assist..."
Before Yuan Shaoqing could finish, Ge Yongshou raised a hand, rudely interrupting with impatience, "Uh, Layman Yuan, you’ve been here four or five times, haven’t you? If I recall correctly, didn’t you just borrow new documents five days ago? Have you already reviewed so many documents? You should know these scrolls are confidential records of my Daoist Realm, dutifully preserved by the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion till today. If not for the Spirit Lord’s order to assist your investigation, outsiders wouldn’t even have the privilege to take them out of this stone forest!"
